February-May 2019
Eating disorders
During the second semester our students concentrated on studying the effects of food on our bodies, the health benefits and problems that can occur, if we are following unhealthy eating habits and are influenced by social media and advertisements that we see in our everyday lives.
Below are the best results of our work - research papers, advertisements and comic book format.
An eating disorder is a mental disorder defined by abnormal eating habits that negatively affect a person's physical or mental health. They include binge eating disorder where people eat a large amount in a short period of time, anorexia nervosa where people eat very little and thus have a low body weight, bulimia nervosa where people eat a lot and then try to rid themselves of the food, pica where people eat non-food items, rumination disorder where people regurgitate food, avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder where people have a lack of interest in food, and a group of other specified feeding or eating disorders.[1] Anxiety disorders, depression, and substance abuse are common among people with eating disorders. These disorders do not include obesity.
In the developed world binge eating disorder affects about 1.6% of women and 0.8% of men in a given year. Anorexia affects about 0.4% and bulimia affects about 1.3% of young women in a given year. Up to 4% of women have anorexia, 2% have bulimia, and 2% have binge eating disorder at some point in time. Anorexia and bulimia occur nearly ten times more often in females than males. Typically, they begin in late childhood or early adulthood.
Some physical symptoms of eating disorders are weakness, fatigue, sensitivity to cold, reduced beard growth in men, reduction in waking erections, reduced libido, weight loss and failure of growth. The initial diagnosis should be made by a competent medical professional. There are many medical disorders that mimic eating disorders and comorbid psychiatric disorders.
Classification of eating disorders.
Anorexia nervosa (AN), characterized by lack of maintenance of a healthy body weight, an obsessive fear of gaining weight or refusal to do so, and an unrealistic perception, or non-recognition of the seriousness, of current low body weight. Anorexia can cause menstruation to stop, and often leads to bone loss, loss of skin integrity, etc. It greatly stresses the heart, increasing the risk of heart attacks and related heart problems.
Bulimia nervosa (BN), characterized by recurrent binge eating followed by compensatory behaviors such as purging (self-induced vomiting, eating to the point of vomiting, excessive use of laxatives/diuretics, or excessive exercise). Fasting and over-exercising may also be used as a method of purging following a binge.
Muscle dysmorphia is characterized by appearance preoccupation that one's own body is too small, too skinny, insufficiently muscular, or insufficiently lean. Muscle dysmorphia affects mostly males.
Binge Eating Disorder (BED), characterized by recurring binge eating at least once a week for over a period of 3 months while experiencing lack of control and guilt after overeating.
Compulsive overeating (COE), in which individuals habitually graze on large quantities of food rather than binging, as would be typical of binge eating disorder.
Diabulimia, characterized by the deliberate manipulation of insulin levels by diabetics in an effort to control their weight.
Orthorexia nervosa, a term used by Steven Bratman to characterize an obsession with a "pure" diet, in which people develop an obsession with avoiding unhealthy foods to the point where it interferes with a person's life.
Avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID), previously known as selective eating disorder is where the certain foods are limited based on appearance, smell, taste, texture, brand, presentation, or a past negative experience with the food.
